In one of the bigger upsets of the week on the women’s tennis tour, Spain’s Paula Badosa — currently ranked 142nd in the world — knocked out No. 5 seed Coco Gauff at the Berlin Tennis Open on Wednesday, winning 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 to punch her ticket to the quarterfinals.
Gauff, who holds the world No. 7 ranking, held a commanding 12-4 edge in aces throughout the match. However, Badosa made the most of her opportunities in the final two sets, converting four of five break point chances while Gauff managed just one of two. Badosa, who was once ranked as high as No. 2 on the tour back in 2022, now holds a 5-3 all-time record against Gauff.
Elsewhere in the WTA 500 event, top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula both advanced with straight-set victories. Sabalenka defeated Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-4, while Pegula handled Czechia’s Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 6-4.
Unseeded Czech player Nikola Bartunkova also reached the quarterfinals, eliminating Belgium’s Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-4. She will face Sabalenka in the next round. The Philippines’ Alexandra Eala picked up a first-round win over Croatia’s Donna Vekic by a score of 7-5, 6-4.
At the Lexus Nottingham Open, a WTA 250 event held in the United Kingdom, third-seeded Emma Navarro grinded out a 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4 victory over Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva in a match that lasted just under three hours.
Navarro will next face Spain’s Jessica Bouzos Maneiro in the quarterfinals. Bouzos Maneiro reached that stage after leading Katie Volynets 7-5, 1-0 when Volynets was forced to retire from the match. It’s worth noting that Navarro suffered a lopsided 6-1, 6-0 defeat to Bouzos Maneiro in the opening round of the 2025 French Open.
Germany’s Tatjana Maria rolled past Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 6-1, 6-2, and Australia’s Talia Gibson edged China’s Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 7-6 (10) in other Nottingham results.
